


A Bit(e) Wild

by Cuzosu



Category: Batman - All Media Types, The Losers (2010)
Genre: A-Team mention, Accidental Voyeurism, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cougar!Cougar, Cuddling, Don't copy to other sites, Established Relationship - Jensen/Cougar, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, How are these assholes so cute?, Hurt/Comfort, I'd call it a puppy pile but only one is a canine, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multiple Crossovers, Nudity, Redhead Jason Todd, Sex is implied but not written, Shapeshifter Pile, Shapeshifting, Slow Burn Threesome, Snow Leopard!Jason Todd, Swearing, some violence and gore, wolf!Jensen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-10-12 08:21:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20561195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuzosu/pseuds/Cuzosu
Summary: Jason Todd gets bit by a shapeshifter on his way to Gotham. Good thing he has an emergency plan for this: call the Losers.(Or: author didn't realize she wanted Jensen/Jason/Cougar until a certain fic enabler asked if that was endgoal. Consensus was that slow burn with established Jensen/Cougar sounded more in character; author went, "Well, shit. Now I need to write that." Cue angst because Batfam and Losers, but also fluff because they still deserve nice things.)





	A Bit(e) Wild

**Author's Note:**

> I know I don't make it clear in this fic, but Jensen's ringtone is the _Kim Possible_ theme song. Just FYI. 
> 
> This was a traditional bang fic, and [Anonyan's art](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20842259) is delightful. If it doesn't make sense yet, well, just read and come back to it! Seriously, deserves all the kudos for the sheer emotion conveyed. 
> 
> Beta credit to nightwink, and if I forgot anyone or I put a username you don't want up here, tell me! It's been done for a month or so now, and I only saw the one person's name still attached to my doc!
> 
> Now, for spoilers: I tagged this as slow burn threesome, not because there's a threesome in this fic, but because this is the start of a series that _will be_ a threesome. As the most guilty enabler likes to abbreviate it: JJC (Jensen/Jason/Cougar). Fic also contains a stealth crossover with the A-Team; series may have more crossovers than that in the long run. I have been encouraged to add Kim Possible and sidekick Ron Stoppable _and_ the Addams Family, as well.

Paws hit the floor without a sound. The mountain lion stalked through the house unnoticed, ears twitching as noise from current residents hit sensitive eardrums. He wasn’t interested in other targets; one smelled irresistible and could be tracked by the clacking and clicking and ceaseless chatter which typically accompanied this human.

Said human was also worryingly oblivious to his surroundings until a heavy head shoved him backward. “Shit, Cougs!” yelped the hacker. “Warn a guy next time!”

Cougar snorted a quiet, wordless retort before draping himself bodily across his partner and nipping the human’s hip.

Jensen groaned. “Not a pillow,” he reminded the mountain lion. It didn’t have the intended effect; Cougar merely began to purr. So Jake did the next best thing. “A little help here?!” he yelled.

The first teammate to stick his head through the door was Pooch, who took one look and raised his hands to ward off whatever incidents Cougar’s feline glare promised. “Sorry, Jay,” the mechanic told him. “The Pooch don’t get between that cat and his favorite toys...I mean _people.”_ Pooch smirked, waved, and turned to leave.

“Not a goddamn scratching post,” hissed the hacker, glaring at his friend’s retreating back.

Roque must have met Pooch in the hall and seen the _hands off_ shrug, because all he did was take a look, scoff at Jensen’s predicament, and tell Cougar, “Don’t matter how many times you try; this one doesn’t learn self care or safety well.”

Cougar’s ears flicked and his head tilted slightly, as if to say, “Oh, really?” Then those expressive ears resumed their usual at ease angle and the mountain lion flexed claws out to clean delicately around them.

“Your funeral or my lack of stress over a tech geek; I fail to see the downside,” the team’s second-in-command retorted. He, too, turned to leave, but bellowed, “Clay! It’s _your_ job to herd cats, not mine!”

Even miffed, Jensen found that amusing.

Sometimes, Jason missed having company that didn’t judge him but also wasn’t going to just up and do something violent and probably permanent to people without good cause or direct, personal vendetta. Which...pretty much meant the Losers, if he was honest. Yes, he missed the big, bad Bat and the original Robin, but—interacting with Robin, he’d feel like he was being judged even if the other didn’t. Childhood hero worship was a hassle; he wouldn’t recommend it. And Batman, no. Batman would _absolutely_ judge him, possibly also while doing something violent because he thought Jason needed to be stopped.

Jason didn’t have the mental fortitude for any of that right now; wasn’t coming back from the dead enough? Kindness and courtesy had been a bit scrambled since the Pit.

So he missed Alfred, who had been kind and understanding, and he missed the Losers, who had been rough around the edges but clearly fond of him and actively _got_ the eye for an eye thing. Clay was the older brother or cousin type, ready to lead but wanting to see that anyone under his care could stand on their own at need. Roque, brusque and caring but the man had _no_ idea how to show that, and no patience unless he was hunting and lives were on the line. Pooch, good man but Jay kind of hoped to never meet his wife. Jensen was an annoying, nerdy older brother type, though Jason enjoyed discussing literature with him. And Cougar—the sniper had a way of making a room peaceful or dangerous simply by existing in it while feeling that emotion himself. It was amazing.

Honestly, that peace of Cougar’s topped _Todd’s list of things I miss the most_ lately.

Shaking the thought off, the young man dumped his dishes in the sink and suited up. He wasn’t prepared to tackle Gotham just yet, but if he merely waited for the time to be right, all his hard-won skills would atrophy.

Evening found Jensen and Cougar at their own place instead of putting finishing touches on their portion of the team’s cleanup post-Max. Dinner had been takeout, a neat oriental place run by a Chinese family; there weren’t enough leftovers to even make a snack, because shifters burned a lot of energy changing shape.

“Cougs,” Jake began, kicking back to sprawl across the couch, “I think we need to have that talk about claws again. The one that goes over how and when it’s appropriate to use them.”

Cougar snorted, then hopped deftly up to lay comfortably on the back of the couch, one leg hanging off. It was as close to footsie as he ever got without the hacker instigating that level of play.

“I’m serious!” protested the wolf shifter. “I can’t poke holes in all of _your_ best clothes!”

The sniper graced his partner with a dubious glance from under his hat, then smiled as he tipped the brim down for a light doze. As he drifted off, he heard the hacker hiss, “Shamelessly flashed my _sister_ on leave that time…!” and couldn’t help but grin. That brought back memories….

* * *

Jennifer Jensen’s house was small, but she’d had the room to put up her brother and his friend during their leave, as long as they didn’t mind sharing a bed. They’d said it was fine, they were used to it. _Must be a lot of cramped quarters on their missions,_ was her only thought.

She’d been hesitant to meet Cougar, at first, let alone have a stranger stay in her house, but Jake assured her this teammate was awesome and loyal to a fault. Now, she opened the door to find a Hispanic man in a battered vest, jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat. Jenn blinked and glanced curiously at her brother.

“Hey, sis!” he greeted, almost manic with cheer. Foregoing introductions, he bounded into the house to drop off his bag and find his niece.

Cougar sighed and shook his head. “Hola,” murmured the sniper, tipping his hat as she let him past her.

When the door was shut, she realized he hadn’t even asked where to put his things, instead following the sound of Jake making his way around. Jenn hurried after, embarrassed but still feeling protective of her brother. She caught up in time to hear her daughter.

“Uncle Jake!” Jessie scolded, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. “You’re not supposed to bring strangers home!”

Teeth flashed in the shadows under the hat; Cougar couldn’t help smiling. Jensen antics were great amusement to him.

Jenn opened her mouth to chastise her daughter, but didn’t react in time.

“Cougs isn’t a stranger!” Jake protested. “He’s a badass!”

_“Jacob Jensen!”_ That time, she wasn’t frozen with shock.

Jake winced but otherwise ignored her. “Cougar is the best sniper I’ve ever seen, and, Jessie, if you let him, he’s the kind of guy who will die to protect you even though you just met him. _Insanely loyal._ He’s also so sneaky that the team’s second-in-command has learned to put up with me because _Cougar_ made it clear anything else was unacceptable. The Colonel tends to just sigh and go along with the second about who makes the team.” He grinned at his teammate again. “One of these days I want to learn your sneaky tricks, man.”

Jessie eyed her uncle and the man in the hat. “So you’re saying if I want to manage to sneak out when I get older, I should ask him how?”

Sputtering incoherently, Jake turned an expression of utter betrayal on niece and comrade alike.

_“Kidding,_ Uncle Jake!” She rolled her eyes with all the exaggeration of a teen, though she wasn’t quite there yet.

Jenn rubbed her temples and sighed. Her eyes shot open with surprise when she heard an unfamiliar chuckle. Where she despaired of ever seeing maturity in her brother, she’d been trying _hard_ to train dignity into her daughter, so the thought that childish antics might be _amusing_ hadn’t even crossed her mind.

The next several days were much the same, full of headaches and over-dramatic shenanigans and the new person in the house trying not to laugh. On the fifth day, she knocked on the door to the guys’ room and got no answer, so she thought no one was inside. When she opened the door, there was a cougar on the bed. Her only reasonable response was to scream and try to keep the large predator in the room and away from her daughter. And then Jake came scrambling in, holding a pistol she hadn’t seen him carrying before.

“Sis! What is—oh.” He lurched to a stop against the door frame and gently nudged her aside. “Didn’t I tell you? I thought I told you. Cougs is Cougs.”

Her mind didn’t want to comprehend just yet, so seeing her brother walk over and start scratching behind a large wildcat’s ears terrified Jennifer. “Jake…!” she hissed.

Cougar stretched and reached up one big paw to hook his claws in cloth and pull. Jake fell onto the bed half on top of the giant feline, who flexed whiskers in a smile and began to purr.

“See? He’s harmless, at least to us.”

In retribution, Cougar hooked his other front claws in the shirt and stretched until it tore.

“...you _asshole,_ Cougs. I’m running out of shirts!”

Jake was still squawking as Jenn backed out of the room and shut the door behind her. She rubbed a shaking hand over her face, paused, then tangled her fingers in her hair and trembled as adrenaline faded.

Jessie arrived as Jenn stopped shaking. “Mom, what were you screaming about? Is Uncle Jake dealing with it?”

“Your uncle,” Jennifer all but growled, “did not tell me that his good friend could _literally_ be his namesake.”

The girl blinked and looked between her mom and the guys’ bedroom door, where she could hear muttering and a purr so loud it thrummed through the house. “Cougar’s a shapeshifter? Can I see?” She didn’t wait for an answer, instead ducking around her mom and darting to the door.

By the time Jenn got past her fear and braved the quiet room again, Jessie and Jake were both sprawled on the bed, petting a supremely contented feline. They stayed that way until dinner, after which Cougar slipped away to shift back to human, dress, and tackle handyman tasks for Jenn. When he finished fixing leaky pipes under the house, he was coated in dirt and spiderwebs. Then he headed for the fence; there was still enough light for cat eyes and an electric screwdriver to fix most of that problem….

Well past bedtime for Jessie and Jenn alike, Cougar padded quietly to the spare bathroom to shower. He didn’t bother grabbing clothes; everyone but Jake was asleep and if he had to, he could shift. Shifters tended not to be body shy.

When Cougar emerged from the shower, he found holes in every clean item of clothing he had with him. The only ones not punctured—or shredded—were the ones he’d been wearing, and he wasn’t putting _them_ back on until they’d been well washed. Evidently, Jensen still didn’t know everything he thought he did about shifters; this was clearly supposed to be a lesson, but—Cougar generally was deliberate, and tried to be careful not to destroy things irreparably.

The sniper considered the towel about his waist, then shrugged to himself. It wasn’t like he couldn’t go cat until Jake bought him another set of clothes, if it came to that. He hung the towel up to dry and padded downstairs, detouring just long enough to pick up his hat.

Jake was just finishing up for the night when a flash of movement caught his eye; someone was heading into the kitchen. He was reasonably sure it was his partner and teammate. So he tidied up loose ends and turned his computer off, closed the laptop and packed it away again. If he had time tomorrow, he could always pull it out again.

Then he wandered into the kitchen, speaking before he even entered the room. “All those holes? _Paybacks,_ Cougs. You can afford a new wardrobe as needed; I keep ending up broke! You—” _Holy shit,_ Jake thought. “..._fuck me.”_ That damn smirk was going to be the death of Jensen, someday.

“You want me to fuck you?” Cougar queried, and that smirk widened. His tone was mild, calm.

It was reassuring, because Jake was losing his mind; no one should be that hot. None of which stopped the smirk from being entirely too damn smug, _fucking cats, man._ Even if he _did_ trust this one.

There was only one thing Jensen could think to do; he tipped that hat back, ignored the increasingly smug expressions, and kissed Cougar like his life depended on it.

_Heaven._ It was heaven, had to be. Sexy, competent person, _interested in him,_ kissing back, hands grabbing him by the ass and pulling them closer—

_“Ohthat’snotcool!”_ came Jenn’s frustrated voice from the kitchen doorway. “I wanted a drink of water and I saw _this_ and Cougar it’s not _fair_ of you to show all that off when my brother’s the only one who gets you and I don’t want to poach from him!”

Cougar grinned, all feral charm and ill-hidden affection. He winked at her and shifted to his feline form just as Jake rediscovered his own voice.

“Jenn! Don’t _compliment_ him!”

The sniper rubbed his side along the hacker as he moved around the kitchen again, then reared up to snag something from the counter.

Jennifer Jensen opened her mouth to grumble about paws and fur on counters, then realized Cougar had just been grabbing food he’d already made for himself. “Jake, really,” she sighed. “_How_ is your life this much of a disaster?” She eyed the shifter blithely eating, purr still thrumming through the room. “... Thank you, Cougs. He’s needed someone like you for a long time.”

The big cat looked up at her, solemn and unknowable—and winked again. His purr intensified.

Jake couldn’t find words to argue that he hadn’t _needed_ anyone, so he huffed at his sister and sat on the floor. “You’re not supposed to side with her,” the hacker grumbled. “If you weren’t hands down the best relationship I’ve ever had, I’d be hacking your files and changing your data out of spite.”

Cougar huffed with amusement; they both knew Jake had long since hacked every one of the Losers’ files, and so far had yet to alter any files except Roque’s. From their team, at least.

* * *

Jason was so focused when the wolf bit him that he barely even winced; he was too busy burying a silver blade in its throat. The blade made it gag and release him, so the former Robin skipped back a step and drew a gun. “I’ve known better shifters than you,” he sneered.

Even one shot was loud; he used four high caliber bullets to obliterate the creature’s skull. No point letting it regenerate and come after him again. Shifters this lost to reason tended to go for revenge and nothing else, according to Cougar.

When he judged the creature thoroughly dead, he retrieved his blade and cleaned it with brisk appreciation. He was quick to clean up and clear the scene, because something felt...off. One hand scraped over his helmet and he cursed himself for showing a nervous habit. More teachers than just Batman had taught him better than that.

Whatever he was feeling, it wasn’t rabies; it hadn’t been long enough for the incubation period. Would the Pit’s aftereffects even allow him to be changed? He kicked the corpse as he tried to suss out what seemed wrong with himself. “If you gave me rabies on top of whatever the fuck this is, I will find someone dumb enough to revive you just so I can kill you again.” Under hood and mask, Jason made a face no one could see, then decided it was time to bury the shifter’s remains and head home.

By the time he arrived at his temporary quarters and shed the suit, he was tired and sweaty, so he showered and went to bed. When his fever peaked, he was asleep. He spent the next two days fighting the Pit’s remnants more than usual.

The second was enough of a disaster that he barely managed a grocery run and had to seclude himself for the rest of the day; then the full moon hit. He never managed to patrol that night.

In the morning, he dialed a number he'd thought he probably wouldn't need again. “Cougs, help,” he gritted out before Jake could say a word. Green crept toward Todd again, trying to sneak under his notice.

“On our way, Little Jay,” the hacker replied. “Tracking your phone now; you don't sound up to texting.”

Jason dropped the phone on the counter and left it, trusting Big Jay to keep him safe electronically. His head throbbed in time with his heartbeat. More than just the Pit wanted bloodshed now, and fighting both required assistance. _I only have to hold out until the Losers get here,_ he told himself. _That’s it. Cougar can help me figure out the shifter shit. Jensen and the others will tranq me if lives are on the line._

Maybe it was hope loosening his grip; maybe it was rage at being so close and thwarted. The Pit surged, crashing into him like a tidal wave, and when he regained a semblance of control, Jason’s knuckles were split and one felt broken. Blood spattered and smeared on his work table explained what he’d been punching.

A hysterical laugh escaped him. “Hurry, Cougs. _Please_ hurry,” he whispered frantically.

His phone blinked on the kitchen counter, half a room away.

Cougar always listened when Jensen was involved; he cared too much not to. He’d act like he hadn’t heard if it was something Jake needed him not to—hygiene matters, for example—but Carlos Alvarez was a shifter born. He’d earned the name Cougar well before his first shift, in a family which actively avoided nicknaming children after animal traits until they’d shifted often enough to hit puberty and had to be locked up for at least a week for everyone’s safety.

He’d been Cougar since he was five. Joining the military hadn’t even resulted in a different nickname. If anything, the military had strengthened his shifter tendencies. Now he listened to conversations much further away as a matter of course.

When the phone rang, he recognized the fear-roughened voice calling for him. Dark eyes swept up to meet Jake’s. “Jay,” he stated, then nodded back toward their room to indicate he’d start packing. His fingers tapped an alert into his phone and sent it.

Their bags were mostly packed still. Old habits died hard, and having been on the run for so long had left some behaviors ingrained. As Jensen handled the technology and figuring out their destination, Cougar loaded everything they’d want if they ended up on the run again into the SUV. He was on his third trip and mostly finished when his phone rang.

“Cougs, what’s wrong?” Pooch demanded as soon as the sniper picked up.

“Jay.” Cougar tucked the phone between shoulder and ear and continued packing the vehicle.

“Jake?”

_“Jay.”_

There was a moment of stunned silence. _“Little Jay?!”_ Pooch even sounded horrified; he knew Jason had never planned on calling for backup from them. “_Shit._ Lemme tell Jo we gotta go.”

“Bring them,” the sniper suggested abruptly. “Follow.” _Just in case_ went unspoken, but Pooch knew him well enough to read between the lines. He could hear the driver’s rough breath, shaky exhalation, the hand running over his close-shaved head.

“Shit,” Pooch swore again. “A’ight, go, we’ll meet up.”

As he ended the call and stowed his phone, the hacker emerged with a pair of laptop cases and a box of additional tech he thought might be needed. Cougar opened the door behind the driver’s seat and slid around his partner to fetch the rest of their necessities.

Fully loaded, Jensen took the driver’s seat. “I don’t think we can fit Pooch in,” he said. It was part apology, part not, because they kept most of the dangerous gear with them and away from Pooch’s kids.

Cougar shook his head. “Meet us.”

Jake’s gaze sharpened. “Family trip?”

The sniper shrugged. “Jay,” was his only answer.

Jensen’s expression softened. “Fair enough. Let me text Pooch the place and we’ll go.”

They were on the highway a few minutes later.

As they pulled up to Jason’s hideout, Jake caught his partner frowning out of the corner of his eye. “Cougs?” he asked, pulling into a parking garage. There was an entire side of the building left vacant after a villain incident; it had been repaired, but even though the records showed it as uninhabited, the owner received regular payments for _something_ hush-hush. That, combined with tracking Todd’s phone here, meant the place had become a safehouse.

The Losers knew safehouses. They’d used more than their fair share, had a few of those blown up with people still inside, and had done their damnedest to teach the former Robin every safehouse lesson they’d ever learned.

Some of it must have stuck; shifter eyes noted tripwires a human would have missed, traps it would take someone _other_ or who knew where every hazard had been positioned to safely enter the residence. The level of paranoia, however, did not bode well. A few of those traps faced inward.

Jason shook from fatigue; the rage and the instincts and all the noise of the surrounding city had compounded his usual paranoia. Containing his responses, when possible at all, had siphoned his energy. Now he jerked, a full body twitch; footsteps in the hall, scents that didn’t belong!

He was leaping before he remembered calling for help from the only people he trusted to teach him about this newest complication.

Cougar hit like a freight train—one leap took Jason out in midair, and then they were tangled, grappling with claws and fangs, fur instead of skin, clothing shredded and scattered. The hat lay on the floor beside Jensen, who took in the scene and glibly noted, “Well, _this_ could be a challenge….”

Little Jay was too busy to respond, and perhaps too lost to territorial panic. He twisted and snarled and clawed, but the other cat was just enough bigger for experience to count heavily against him. In a matter of minutes, he was pinned and panting.

“You called, Little Jay,” murmured Jensen, hands open and held out peacefully. “You called and we’re here, we came. Guessing this is probably what you need help with, yeah? Let us help. Cougs knows what he’s doing. He’s teaching me, too.”

The soft-spoken blather kept on, soothing and familiar. Jason grew up with Dick as an older brother; he intrinsically understood when someone was just talking to help him calm down. After several long, tense minutes, he heaved a sigh and relaxed his muscles. Two seconds later, Jason jolted in surprise, then blinked.

Cougar had shifted his own posture to a protective straddle in response to the younger cat relaxing. Not content with that, he had to take it a step further and, in typical feline behavior, began grooming Jason with clear approval. It was enough to agitated the Pit remnants; his tail lashed, almost thumping into Jensen’s boots as the blond stepped closer.

Somehow, Jason managed not to panic and lash out again. Cougar rewarded the good behavior with a purr that rumbled through them both.

Jensen melted a bit when Little Jay eased up enough to stop attacking them, smiled when Cougar decided there was no further threat and set about reassuring the snow leopard shifter that he harbored no ill will. When his phone rang, he answered immediately; he’d been expecting this call. “Hey, boss!”

“Jensen, why the hell was it _Pooch_ who told me we were loading up for Little Jay?” growled Clay.

Jake eyed the felines, contemplating making it a dogpile. “Beeeecause Little Jay was calling for Cougs? Scrambled everybody as a just in case,” and the hacker bit his tongue on the _sir_ that wanted to escape; military habits died hard. “Sounded like it was bad, but—personal bad, you know? I didn’t recognize his voice ’til Cougar said his name. Figured we’d head over first, see if we could do anything before the whole team showed up on Little Jay’s doorstep.”

Clay’s silence was not surprising; he preferred to take a moment and assess situations, providing there was time. “...and?” he finally asked.

“And he got _bit,_ Clay. What do you think happened? Little Jay and Cougs are having a kitty cuddle pile now, since they sorted out the dominance issue, and I’m kinda thinking about joining 'em.”

“Secure anything you brought and lock down the area. We’ll call when we’re close. Pooch and his family will get there after Roque and I do.” He hung up before Jensen could agree or disagree.

Some days, Jake was unbelievably relieved that the entire team had somehow survived the Max fiasco. Other days, he had the sneaking suspicion that the Losers were going to grow old together and eventually get blown up or shot by one of Clay’s disastrous dates. Aisha had been extremely attractive and had used them all ruthlessly in order to bring down Max. He’d have minded less if she hadn’t kept Roque’s undercover plan to herself; it was sheer luck that Cougar was a paranoid shifter and had developed covert signals unique to him and the team’s second-in-command.

_Make it look good,_ Roque had signed, knowing the feel of Cougar’s scope on him. It had triggered a cascade of flashbacks, times they’d had to wing a plan after Clay or Jake got captured and Pooch was stuck guarding their egress point. Getting Roque back safely took more effort than his apparent treachery had.

Shaking bad thoughts from his head, Jensen strode off to secure vehicle and weapons, figuring Cougar had Little Jay in paw and could multitask enough to keep an ear out for potential trouble. It wasn’t like the sniper had ever stopped guarding his teammates’ backs, after all. Including Roque’s.

John “Hannibal” Smith was...not _nice, _per se, but protective, with a soft spot for underdogs. He’d made fast friends among the Losers, so was only mildly surprised when someone called his unlisted personal phone with an untraceable number and it turned out to be the blond hacker. “Jensen,” he greeted warmly, smiling around his cigar. “What do you need?”

“That is the question,” Jake noted wryly. “Current snafu is a barely of age adopted Loser was trying to do his own thing and got bit, called for Cougs specifically, and...he’s not going to just let his original intentions slide, Hannibal; he’s going to want to leave before he’s got his self-control back up to normal and that—won’t end well. Potentially a lot of civilian casualties. So, uh. You guys maybe feel like making a trip to Gotham in the near future?”

Hannibal pulled the cigar from his mouth and admitted, “On a job right now, got another lined up after. See if we can’t hurry things up, though.”

“Thanks, Colonel,” was as close as Jensen came to a farewell.

Roque walked in to find a pile of fur and balked. “Hell no,” he scoffed, pointing an accusatory finger. “I want no part of this. Cuddle _away_ from me!” He threw his hands in the air and stomped off to investigate the rest of Little Jay’s hideout.

Cougar’s ears twitched and his eyes narrowed to slits, but he didn’t object to the team’s second-in-command adding any security measures the angry man deemed necessary. Besides, his attention was mostly occupied. Jason had always been dramatic, and from the way the snow leopard tensed beneath him in the pile, he’d seen Roque’s rejection of cuddling as a rejection of _him._

Jason stiffened under the weight of both other shifters, feeling hurt and surprised. He’d thought the Losers _liked_ him.

Preparing to stand was difficult, partly because of how new he was to this alternate form, and also partly because sniper and hacker alike refused to give him space. His paws in place, Jason’s muscles tensed—and a long, low whine from the wolf made him hesitate. Cougar took advantage of that moment to sit up enough to sneak one front paw over the snow leopard’s shoulders and deliberately ruffle his fur with a lick to his head in the wrong direction.

_Snipers, assassins, and spies,_ Jason grumbled to himself. _Misdirection and sneakiness and all the underhanded tactics they can think of._ He conveniently forgot his own less than upfront plans for Gotham. It was enough to make him wonder, though, if there was some secret cat body language he’d need to learn, because Cougar smoothed over the fur he’d displaced and began that rumbling purr again. He even backed off enough to give Jason the choice of whether or not he wanted contact, waiting with infinite patience and slow, lazy blinks like he was drifting off to sleep.

Fuck, that was hard to resist! Little Jay yawned almost in tandem with Cougar, then shifted until his paws were tucked against Jensen and his side once again pressed firmly to the other cat’s. His head angled to face outward, but it was clearly not a refusal of contact.

They were still curled close when Clay came in, striding calmly. “Pooch is getting Jolene and the kids settled in a hotel for now. Do we need him here, or should he treat it like a vacation?”

Jensen yawned widely as Cougar stretched a bit, then met his partner’s gaze. The wolf’s head tilted quizzically, only to be met by the older cat’s own yawn. A low purr still rumbled from him.

While Jake shifted back to human, Cougar leaned a little harder into Jason’s side and set his head down with a sigh. It was, apparently, distracting. Little Jay eased back again, not familiar enough with his new form to pass as relaxed, but visibly trying.

“I think,” Jake said, catching the pants Clay threw at him and making a face, “that Jo and the kids deserve a vacation, and Pooch will probably not be a lot of help right now, when the shifting is still so new to Jason. Later may be another matter, but Pooch isn’t a shifter.” He sighed and pulled the pants on, more to placate Clay’s occasionally delicate sensibilities than because he was going to stay in jeans long.

“Okay,” said Jensen, clapping his hands as if he needed to gather the attention of unruly students.

Jason resented the comparison, but knew it hadn’t been intentional on Jake’s part. If he weren’t so annoyed, he might have playfully told Cougar the lesson was starting. The other man was just as naked as they were; he’d even left his hat on top of his clothes! But Jason was a bit nervous, and angry that his plans had gone so far awry, and—here they were.

“Possibly the most important thing for you to know right now, Little Jay, is that the human nudity taboos don’t really apply to shifters. The change can and will tear up clothing, or another shifter will want to play and accidentally damage your clothes, so just...be aware, you’re going to lose clothes, it’s not your fault, and if another shifter tries to shame you for nudity you have the right to kick their ass.”

“Uh.” How was he supposed to respond to that? “I’ve been Robin. I’m familiar with rough treatment of clothes.”

Jake smiled ruefully. “But the nudity will take a bit to adjust to? Been there, man. Cougs is a great distraction.”

“Maybe if you’re sleeping with him,” muttered the redhead. Not quietly enough.

“Jay, he’s been ogled by no few people. My niece uses him to shame guys she doesn’t want asking her out; if they don’t back off, she gets him to scare the hell out of them in cat form. If he wasn’t okay with you looking, you wouldn’t see him like this. The only ones who get to see him without clothes for more than a few minutes are people he cares about. You? You’re getting lessons in shapeshifting from him. I’m the only other one who’s been that lucky so far.”

Jason blinked, opened his mouth to say—he didn’t know what he was going to say.

“Shifting,” Cougar interrupted firmly, fondness dancing in his eyes, “is mostly about protection and defense, at first.”

Another blink. “I—but when I shifted to my...my _cat_ form,” Jason protested, still unused to it, “I was hurting and pissed off.”

Jensen nodded. “Protective anger from your shifter side, wanting to defend you from the pain. Starting out, wanting or needing to protect and defend is what’s going to cause a shift. It’s...inconvenient. Cougs can let his out just because it wants to stretch; I’m kind of jealous, but I know someday I’ll get there, too. He’s a good teacher. He cares. And the more you shift while you’re calm, the less your new, furry alter ego will demand to be let out at bad times. It will still push a bit, but not as much.”

_Let it out to keep it in._ Didn’t make much sense to the ex-Robin, but Cougar was the expert. “Okay, so how…?”

“Breathe,” Cougar replied. “Close your eyes. Smell surroundings, us.”

“Lay back, lose yourself in your senses so your mind is closer to the cat naturally,” translated Jake. He was used to all the things Cougar didn’t say out loud.

“Stretch,” advised the sniper. “Then stretch your claws.”

Jason reached, feeling a couple kinks in his spine loosen, then curved his fingers like he was digging into dirt with claws. He opened his eyes as a snow leopard.

_“Sweet!”_ came Jensen’s cheer. “See, Cougs just _gets_ shifter cats. Took us both a bit to realize some things might need adapted from cat to wolf for me.” He grinned approval at the younger cat for a moment longer, then admitted, “I’m kind of jealous. But it’s still your first shift; don’t get cocky.”

Jason puffed on a cigarette, eyes narrowed in thought. He needed more practice; he knew he did. But he wasn’t sure he could afford the time.

With a huff, he stubbed out the cigarette and turned to go back inside. His boots sounded loud even to his untrained ears, but he wasn’t stomping, just thinking.

“Hey, Little Jay!” Pooch called as the younger man entered. “Jo sent some food over for everyone, said she bet you needed fed more. Cougar helped me keep these assholes from eating it all.”

Food was a good distraction; Jason diverted immediately. He found the other cat shifter in animal form, half sprawled on the counter beside a clean plate and steaming platters half emptied of food. Apparently people had tried to steal it anyway, because there was a faint smell of blood. Someone had gotten scratched, if not badly.

“Mine?” Jason checked, well aware that it probably was. Still, better safe than sorry, especially since Cougar was unquestionably the more experienced shifter.

Cougar nodded, butting his head against Jason’s hand. He stretched up into a sitting position, yawned, and hopped down to the floor, wandering into the rest of the safehouse—presumably to find Jake.

Jason shook his head, bemused. “Nicest guy I know, and most places would probably label him a dangerous killer.” He shook his head again, then reached for the plate and dished up his meal.

A gust of cool air pulled his attention to the window. _Winter’s coming on. If I don’t get into Gotham before then, I’ll be entirely too easy to track._

It didn’t make him feel guilty for leaving the Losers unannounced when they were trying to help him. It _didn’t._

  
Two sets of ears twitched as Jason Todd eased out into the night. Minutes later, once he was out of hearing range, the older shifters opened their eyes and shared a long look of determination. Jensen rose, padded over to Clay, and nosed their leader awake; Cougar was a shadow slinking to Roque, who probably didn’t enjoy being woken up by a wildcat’s heavy paw.

Clay ignored his second’s ire. “He’s gone?”

Jake nodded.

“There’s only one place he’d go,” groused Roque. “Idiot needs to start accepting help already.”

The wolf shifter’s eyes slid to Cougar’s; there was no small amount of the pot and the kettle in that, and Roque didn’t appear to see the irony.

“Alright, Losers. We’re going after him. Pack up. Jensen, call Pooch; I don’t know that he wants Jo and the kids with but we can plan around that if we need to.”

They scattered, Clay to start loading vehicles, Jake and Cougar to change shape and clothe themselves, Roque to erase all sign anyone had been in residence in recent memory. Jensen called Pooch and Jolene on their way to the car.

“I don’t care,” Jo said when she answered, “what my husband says. We are going to be there for that young man, too. If that means we all move to Gotham for a few years, so be it. We won’t lose you again.”

Jake opened his mouth, had absolutely no response, shrugged, and looked at Clay. “Guess we’re all going, boss.”

“Then let’s move, Losers.”

There was a brief struggle for the driver’s seat, since Pooch was taking his family, but Roque firmly manhandled Clay out of his way. Cougar snorted soft amusement, moving to the passenger seat of the SUV he and Jake used.

Jensen waited until they were driving to say, “I wish Clay and Roque would just figure out they could have sex with each other and it would satisfy all their needs. Clay would have enough crazy and Roque wouldn’t have to protect him from psychotic exes.”

Cougar smirked. “Not military,” he noted. It was another objection the two probably hadn’t fully thought through yet.

“Think Jo’d help us set them up?”

Cougar’s laugh was rusty but honest. “Jason, too.”

Jake nodded sagely. “Be a good change of pace from playing mind games with Batman and wreaking havoc on Gotham,” he agreed.

So maybe it wasn’t a detailed plan, but Jolene alone would do a lot to fix that. And it wasn’t like Losers were strangers to improvisation.


End file.
